Penultimately Pink

Thursday April 16. 2008:
Today's selection had to be one of my boldest selections. It's a pink knit tie I purchased from JCrew about three weeks ago. I was picking through the JCrew website and saw a female model wearing this yellow banker's shirt and a bright pink tie. The color was awfully striking. I immediately and excitedly sought it out in the men's section hoping it would be there. And it was! And not only was it pink, it was azalea! Pronounced a-zal-ea. I love interesting color names. Anyways, I paired this tie with my khaki suit, a blue oxford shirt, and my dark tan Cole Haans. It was an interesting and ballsy look, and one that I had to lean back on that "happy spirit" of mine to carry through - it took a little silliness, too. It all turned out alright, however, because the props I got from friends and colleagues, my boss, and the elevator look in an elevator made it all worthwhile. I should also note that this is my penultimate tie. Friday equals freedom.

Hippos!

Friday April 11, 2008:
I cannot express the joy this tie brings, and the challenges. This tie presents the ultimate test for me and my demeanor. This is definitely not a business tie; it's a playful and meant for garden parties and weddings. It's so playful, in fact, that I think it takes a commandingly playful spirit to carry it off. In the midst of the strict time lines, black sedans, and the neoclassical architecture of my world I feel the need to insert a group of green hippos hiding amongst leaves on a pink field just to show everyone who's the boss. Go ahead, talk about my green hippos! Chances are you are going to end up finding it as perfectly juxtaposed as I do, and not help smiling at it. Katherine and I found this item at a store in Williamsburg when we ran down there for the weekend. We walked out of a ye'olde peanut'n'ham shop and saw pink and green in a window. We walked into the Pink Cabana and I was instantly drawn into the world of Lilly Pulitzer. My old roommate Lex had told me about her love of this label since she had gone to school in Virginia. The tie is cotton and definitely meant for summer. The first time I wore it was to my other old roommate's wedding in Denver. I thought I needed to bring a little east coast to the front range so I paired it with a navy linen blazer, a pair of light khakis and a great pair of shoes Katherine and I had found at the Cole Haan outlet in Castle Rock, Colorado. I smile pretty much all day when I wear this tie.

Bursting with color.

Tuesday April 8, 2008:
I had been waiting to wear this tie, but with the clock running out on options I needed to spring this selection. This was one of those selections I found at Nordtrom and took a chance. It is definitely a chance. I remember looking at it a couple different times in it's bag asking myself if I had actually just purchased it. It is one of my "crazy" ties, and perhaps I have one too many "crazy ties" but I think they all distinct. To demonstrate this fact my coworker, Dennis, asked me today if I had already worn this tie. I was totally shocked at this. Sure, this Ted Baker goes further than others to bring light into the room by bursting with olive and bright blue flowers with pink dots in the center on a dark navy field. You need to have an extra strong will to wear this tie. If I wanted to go extra flashy I'd pair it with a pink shirt and my chalk stripe suit. That is, if I wanted to also spend my day on Wall St. I have, it's awkward and does really get the looks I want. I paired it with a good textured, blue shirt so there are more options for this tie, and I will definitely explore them more this spring.

Pink day.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008:
Today's selection was inspired by yesterday's entry regarding the balance of pink in your tie. Today's tie is a Brooks Brother's tie I bought at the outlet in Woodburn, Oregon. I was on a shopping excursion because I swore I needed a pink tie for my young collection. There is a little story here, and a slightly embarrassing one at that, that can explain the inspiration for this purchase. It goes like this: During my senior year at Colorado College we watched a lot of Will and Grace reruns on the WB (now the CW). Also on the WB was also the banal family series 7th Heaven. On one particular evening there was a spot of 7th Heaven and it showed some party and one of the characters, the young guy who marries one of the preacher's kids, was wearing this pink tie with rep stripes in a dark navy (think pink and ink) or black. Anyways, I decided at that moment 7th Heaven was going to help me let pink be OK and perhaps be a masculine tie color. It wasn't the clincher, for sure, since I had to privately try it out and then seek approval from a bona fide feminine source. Needless to say it all worked out and I am not sure as to why I really needed to share that. Oh well. I was really tired of wearing gray suits and lucky enough when I was digging in my closet I found another suit. Yes, I know. No need to tell me I'm a glutton. Remember, I am blogging about my 60 ties. I am very self aware. Anyways, it was a wool suit I bought two years ago at the Banana outlet and it is a gray with a rough texture and there is a hint of blue. I don't know if it's real, but I believe it's there.

I would also like to share Scott's selection today. I have noticed this selection before and I have to say that I am impressed by Mr. Olson2. Stripes are hard to pair together, especially when they are the same relative width. Scott's bold striped tie, and I think it's City of London, is paired with faint stripes. I really like the match here as the intensity of the shirt really does balance the tie out. Way to go Mr. Olson2.

Pink and Ink

Tuesday, April 1, 2008:
Again Spring passed on it's opportunity to show itself, but I chose to bring out another spring tie. This tie was found in the spring in 2004 languishing in the sale rack of the Banana Republic at the Cherry Creek mall in Denver. The tie cost, get this, $6.99. When I brought it up to the counter, the cute girl at the counter said, "Wow, that's a great deal." And I replied, "Yes, you have to love the pink and ink." I think my knowledge of catchy, swank fashion jive caught her off guard and thus ended conversation. Oh well. The combination of a dark navy with a light, almost candy pink is the perfect mix of masculine and feminine for spring. Obviously when you start approaching that 50/50 balance and the tie becomes more pink you need to have different conversation with yourself about what you want to pull off. The neat thing also is that the tie isn't set on the square and the dots run slightly at an angle. I wore it with a simple light blue shirt and a dark gray suit.